DAY TRIPPIN' TO THE COAST

It was a long time coming with all this covid pandemic stuff. BUT last weekend my son and granddaughter finally arrived in California for a six day stay during her spring break. It had been a year and three months since Darrin and Charley last visited us here in Sacramento. It has been a long year but I believe things are finally looking up. 

Louie (Charley's name for Lou) with his long, pandemic hair, Gaga and Charley happily posing for a photo at Sacramento International Airport as we waited for their bags.

The next morning we headed out on a day trip to the gorgeous, rugged Northern California coast. Charley shares a deep love of our coastline along with Darrin and me. All three of us were born in the Bay Area and it is ingrained in our spirits. A friend once described the feeling as a "soul connection" with the ocean. That is a great way to explain it. The sound of the waves, the smell of the sea and the sheer beauty is definitely soothing to our souls.

Charley and Darrin at the "Favorite Flat Rock" at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica. This has been a favorite place for five or six years and counting. Hours and hours have been spent here. If you look close you can see a couple of the Monster High ghouls sitting on the rocks to the left. 

Here is a vintage photo from four years ago with Charley, Gaga and the ghouls.

The Four Musketeers squeezing in for a windy selfie on the beach.

Darrin and Charley exploring the Rockaway Beach area.

The waves crashing over the rocks and making their way to the shore.

Looking north on Rockaway Beach.

Looking south on Rockaway Beach.

Following lunch at the Taco Bell on the beach at Pacifica we headed south down Highway 1 that hugs the Pacific coast. If you aren't from California, yes, there is a Taco Bell right on the beach in Pacifica. It used to just be a regular Taco Bell but is now quite commercialized and crowded even serving beer and margaritas.

Between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay is an area known as Devil's Slide. When I was in my teens, twenties and thirties, I recall many times when parts of the road built on a mountainside would slide into the ocean closing that route until repairs were made.

The Devil's Slide Tunnels. I think there is an official name but I know it as Devil's Slide. About eight years ago after many political battles the tunnels were finally completed to bypass the slide area.

The area where the road used to be over Devil's Slide is now a mile long hiking trail.

After a quick stop at the Hayward Shoreline, another of Darrin and Charley's favorite places, we headed north up to Jack London Square in Oakland.

Darrin and Charley have always loved visits to Jack London Square. As a child Darrin loved eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory (long gone now) and watching the trains that ran next to the restaurant. 

Supposedly Jack London hung out at this saloon, Heinhold's First and Last Chance. Before covid (and hopefully afterwards) we stopped into the tiny tavern for a beer with the jovial bartenders.

The Jack London Square waterfront.

Charley has to ride "Wolfie" every time we visit Jack London Square. I think it is a statue of the dog/wolf from "Call of the Wild". That is one of Jack London's cabin in the background. It was moved here from another location.

This is one of my favorite photos of Charley and me from about five years ago. It's hard to see but she is riding "Wolfie" and I'm scrunched down beside her.

Although Darrin had to work from home, Charley was on spring break so we had lots of time to play, watch movies and spend a "Gaga and Charley Special Day" that included donuts, manicures, lunch and shopping. Can't wait for lots and lots of Pool Parties when summer arrives in a couple months!

Our finished manicures!